And David said unto the young man that told him, “Whence art thou?” And he answered, “I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite.” And David said unto him, “How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD’S anointed?”  And David called one of the young men, and said, “Go near, and fall upon him.” And he smote him that he died.  And David said unto him, “Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, ‘I have slain the LORD’S anointed.’ ”
2 Samuel 1:13-16

Some background for these verses. First of all David loved his king Saul, and Jonathan the king’s son. Even though Saul had tried to kill David or have him killed, David trusted the LORD with his life, and that of the king as well. Also, David had promised Jonathan and Saul that he would show favor to their family.

Now, David has been told by an Amalekite stranger that Saul, and Jonathan are dead. The stranger tells David a cock a maime  story of how he killed Saul, when according to First Samuel 31:1-6 Saul fell on his own sword, thus killing himself, when he saw that the war was lost, and when Saul’s armor bearer saw that the king was dead he killed himself.

The stranger did not know David. It appears that he sought David out seeking some kind of reward for killing David’s enemy. Only he did not know that Saul was not David’s enemy; Saul was David’s king, and David would not lay a hand on him, neither permit anyone else to do so. David was king Saul’s enemy and all because of envy.

David had two opportunities to take Saul’s life, and he would not do it, because Saul was the LORD’S anointed king (1 Samuel 24:1-9ff; 26:1-16ff). So for this Amalekite stranger to come to David seeking a reward for killing his king was very foolish. Later on after David has become king another two men kill a son of Saul – Ishbosheth – whom Abner tries to set up as king. Ishbosheth was not God’s chosen, or anointed king of Israel. These two men, Rechab and Baanah kill Ishbosheth while he is lying in his bed in the middle of the day. They think they will get a reward from the king for killing an enemy. Their reward is death (2 Samuel 4).

King David remembers the covenants he had made with Jonathan, and he keeps them. That shows us that David is an honorable man of God. He keeps his word. He is faithful to the LORD God as well.

From David we learn how to trust the Lord, our God, and Savior. As David was a man of his word, so ought the Christian to be people who will speak the truth in love, and when we make a promise, or a covenant with someone we keep it. Also, just because someone takes a hit at you, and they consider you their enemy; they do not have to be our enemy.

How can we live like that? How can we love a neighbor who hates us, and does whatever they can to destroy us? We need to first know the LORD, and His Son Jesus Christ. We must have a different heart than that the world has. Do not strike back. Difficult? Most certainly, but remember David’s refusal to strike king Saul.

Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. He died on the cross for our sins – your sins and mine – He was buried, and He rose again. We have a risen Savior who is forever living and He intercedes for us continually. Call on His name. He will hear you and He will deliver you (Romans 10:13).